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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Hydration Horror Story

As most of you know, Monday was the first day of school for my district. I was asked to come in early to help direct traffic, give directions, ease worried parents etc etc etc.When I came in, I was shocked to find out that the school's secretary was out! I knew that she must be SUPER sick if she was missing the first day of school!

When I arrived on Tuesday, she was back and I asked her if she was okay- she told me she had been in the ER because of complication from dehydration.
I wanted to share her story to remind all of you how important it is to stay hydrated at all times.
She told me that she has been running in the evenings after dinner, and that she has started running on a track by her house so that she can have a drink every half mile. A little while ago she noticed that she hadn't had to use the restroom on a regular basis but figured that this happens to everyone and most of the time it just sort of works itself out. (she also told me that her diet is chock-full of fruits, veggies and whole grains, she's def getting enough fiber) When her dehydration symptoms got really bad (severe headache) she went to the hospital and the doctor told her that even though she thought she was drinking regularly it was NOT enough. He said basically, her insides were drying up, which is what caused the backup, she had no inner-lubrication. They pumped her out and then pumped her up with fluids.

Water is necessary for everything in your body

It's been stupidly hot here for a really long time, and what makes it worse is the humidity. Making sure your body has enough water in it could not be more important right now! Ms. Secretary was drinking during her run, and she thought she was drinking enough during the day but it wasn't enough! Before school started, I bought a 32oz plastic travel bottle and have been filling it every morning and filling it again during my lunch. I make sure I finish off two bottles worth before I even leave work and then drink during any workout I do.You need to replace the water lost from perspiration as well as the electrolytes! (aka: salt) So get to drinking!!